Internal-combustion engine



Jan '10, 1928.

' s. 11. FEKETE INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed April 19, 1927 2Sheets-Sheet l INVEN'IEIV J" j WMZZJM@ M@% LWWMM S. ll.

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE EFEII KIEITHRZ Filed April 19, 192'? 2Sheefis Sheet 2 f YINVE/ZENTEH? by w M; J

KW ATT 'R YE T 1? an. W, 1928.,

ITED STATES intact PATENT oFFrcE.

STEPHEN I. FEKETE, 019 DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASEiIGN'UR '10 HUDSON MWJLURUAlEt EDM- lP'ANY, U DETROIT, MIGHIGAN, A. EORPORATION 01 MIUHIWAN.

INTERNAL-COMBUSTION l'llll'lEtINit l.

Appication filed. April 19, 1927.

My present invention relates to improvements in four-cycle internalcombustion engines for use in motor vehicles, and particularly to theparts which perform the working a cycle of the engine, these being thecylinder and piston, valves, combustion chamber and spar plug, a

The efliciency of nternal combustion engines of this type depends inpart on the ratio of compression, the higher the ratio the greater thepower developed and the less the ad consumption. Likewise, the more heatthat is converted into work, the less heat there is to be carried oilthrough the-cooling system and the exhaust. Heretofore, increase incompression beyond definite limits has been prevented by spark knocksocalled, although for reasons which need not be explained a highercompression ratio has been found possible in high speed engines havingsmall cylinder bores than in the larger slower speed engines. Variousschemes have been tried to eliminate spark lmoclr, and to permit anincrease in the sill ciency of the engine. Examples of such schemes arethe so-called anti-knock fuels, polished combustion chambers, catalyticagents in the cylinders, etc; but these are all expensive, inefiectiveor unsatisfactory for one reason or another.

High compression is readily accomplished by reducing the volume of thecombustion chamber, but this is inefieetive unless the valves can be soarranged that the engine will breathe freely and the cylinder will beproperly filled in the time permitted, and the valves can be properlycooled to revent warping and burning, and the explosion softened so thatthe engine will not be harsh and rough. In small engines theseconditions can be met fairly well by the L-head type, but in lar e onines the valves required are so large t at t ey will not withstand theheat, the combustion space is exceedingly thin owing to the size of thevalves and the engine must be considerabl lengthened with attendantincrease in weig t and cost. The 'nverhead valve type of engine is alsounsuit able because, although the breathing is good, the valves cannotbe made large enough and still be properly cooled. Furthermore, thistype of engine is subject to another serious disadvantage, namely, thatsince the exhaust valve is above the piston the unvaporized fuel, whichis always present, can escape only did lid

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by passing the piston rings into the oil pan where it dilutes thelubricating oil.

It has been appreciated for some time that the so-oalled i -head engine,that is, one having an overhead inlet valve and an exhaust valve on theside of the engine with its port opening downwardly, overcame some ofthe difficulties experienced with ill-head and overhead valveengines. Ihave myself designed such engines which have been built in largeuantities, but such engines and others of t e F-head type have failedaltogether .to have the performance and eificienoy of the en ineembodying the present invention.

s a result of long study and experiment, I have found that by makingcertain changes in the arrangement and design of the F- head engine,which changes in themselves appear relatively insignificant,an engine isproduced which is unapproached in elliciency, performance and smoothnessby any comparable engines heretofore constructed. In the engineembodying my present invention, the inlet valve is placed in a positionoverlapping the exhaust valve and the cylinder, that is, with its axisbetweenthe axis of the cylinder and the axis of the ex.- haust valve,and the combustion space is extended over the cylinder no more than isnecessary to provide for the passage of as from the inlet valve to theengine. By t is arrangement, the inlet and exhaust valves are so locatedthat the blast of cool inlet gas blows directly onto the exhaust valveand cools it, thus keeping it from warpin or reaching an excessivetemperature whic in turn Wlll cause detonation. The cooling of the valveby the blast of cool incoming as is so comp etc that exhaust valve troubes,

due to excessive temperatures, are substan tially eliminated. Thisarrangement also makes possible a very small compact combu tion chambereven when using large valves. In the course of my ex eriments I foundthat in such an engine an with the spark plug placed over the cylinder,the breathing, by which is meant the freedom of flow of the mixture intothe cylinder, was excellent, that the compression could be materially increased beyond the usual limiting gure, and that the performance andeconomy of the engine were greatly improved but that the engine wasstill somewhat rough and had a pronounced spark knock when thecompression was raised still higher, lln the course htt- Bill

of further study and experimentation WLtll these still highercompression ratios, I found .that if the spark plug was placed on the.side of the exhaust valve farthest away from the cylinder, a completechange in the characteristics of the engine top place. Such an enginehas no perceptible spark knock, even when the spark has been advancedbeyond the point of maximum power; it is not prone to pre-ignition, andit is exceedingly smooth in performance, having lost all objectionableharshness. As a result, the compression can be increased to a point farbeyond anything thought possible in engines of the same size,

and consequently the engine has greatly increased efliciency and fueleconomy. A further advantage is that since more of the potential energyof the fuel is converted into useful work and less into heat, there isless heat to be carried off by the cooling system pression is mostviolent at the point where it begins and is less so at a greaterdistance from the starting point, has its starting point in the engineembodying my invention at a distance from the cylinder so that, by thetime the piston is reached, it is softened and less violent. Perhapsalso the direction of the explosion, which is at right angles to thedirection of movement of the piston, has something to do with the effectobserved. At any rate, the difference is unmistakable and isindisputably the result of the location of the spark plug with relationto the other parts of the engine.

Another beneficial feature of the invention is that the inlet andexhaust valves are so placed with relation to each other that anyunvaporized fuel which passes the inlet valve falls directly onto theexhaust valve and is thus vaporized and burned or, if unvaporized, goesout through the exhaust without diluting the lubricating oil in thecrank case. I

As a whole, the engine embodying my invention shows an increasedhorsepower at all speeds and a large increase in horsepower at highspeeds. This is accomplished y a decrease in fuel consumption, the motoris cooler and there is less difficulty in exhaust pipes, gaskets,mufliers, etc. The total result is that it ispossible for the first timeto produce a largeengine of high efiiciency, with an unprecedentedperformance, pos sessing the speed and economy of the high cfimpressionmotor with the smoothness and complete absence of spark knock and thewide range of flexibility heretofore associated only with a lowcompression engine.

The invention will be fully understood from the following descriptionwhen taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and the novelfeatures thereof will be pointed out and clearly defined in the claimsat the close of this specification.

Referring now to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a horizontal section taken on line l1 of Fig. 2 of an engineembodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2---2. Fig. i.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 3. showing a slightly modifiedconstruction.

Fig. 4 is a. horizontal section of an engine en'ibodying my invention inmodified form.

At 11 is shown a portion of the cylinder casting, at 12 the exhaustpassage and at if one of the exhaust valves. At 1 1' is shown thecylinder head which in the form shown in the drawings is separate fromthe cylinder block. In the cylinder head the main inlet passage is shownat 15 and the several branches at 16. 17 and 18. There are two maininlet passages 15 only one of which is shown in Fig. 1 and each passagehas three branches, the engine shown being a six cylinder engine. Thewater acket for the cylinder head is shown at 19. At 20 is shown thecombustion space of the engine being partly over the cylinder C andpartly over the exhaust valve 13. At 21 is shown an inlet valve which isinverted and opens downwardly into the combustion space 20 thusconnecting one of the branch inlet passages with the combustion space.It will be understood that the construction for each of the cylinders isidentical except for the shape of the inlet passages and therefore onlyOne is described. The valve rocker is shown at 22 and the valve springat 23. At 24: is shown a spark plug by means of which the mixture isexploded.

As will be seen in the drawings, the relations of the exhaust valve,inlet valve and cylinder are quite different from the ordinary practice.In the engine embodying my invention the exhaust valve 13 is placed asclose as practicable to the side of the cylinder C. The inlet valve 21is placed with its axis between the axis of the cylinder and that of theexhaust 'valve and with its edge overlapping the edge both of the exhaut valve and of the cylinder. The combustion space ZO'licstransverscly ofthe cylinder block, and is made as small as possible. will be seen fromFigs. 2 and 3 it extends only to a point about over the middle of thecylinder and since its end is rounded and is in general concentric withthe inlet valve, the total part of the area of the upper end of thecylinder which is exposed to the combustion space is exceedingly small.Likewise, the ratio of the combustion space to hill.

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t'llll notaoor I lit the displacement is reduced. The branches 16, ll"and 18 of the inlet assage enter from the exhaust valve side of dieengine, i. c, the side farthest from the cylinder and therefore passover the portion oi? the combustion space over the exhaust valves.

This arrangement makes a great difference in the operation of theengine. The engine breathes well {because the inlet valve is over enoughof. the cylinder to accomplish this result. lleretofore when the valvehas been placed over the exhaust valve the breathing of the engine hasbeen bad and there has been a consequent failure to produce a maximumchicicncy. in tact l find that there is no apparent ditl'ercnce in thisrespect between cngincs with my novel construction and engines having aninlet valve wholly over the cylinder. Furthermore a portion of theincoming charge plays directly on the hot exhaust valve cooling it, andunvaporized liquid particles in the mixture fall directly onto theexhaust valve, as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 2. The mixturetherefore helps. to cool the valve, prevents it from becoming so hot asto cause preignition, and keeps it ilrom warping, and the hot exhaustvalve serves to vaporize any unvaporized particles oat fuel andtherefore improves the combustion and the fuel economy of the engine andprevents fouling of the combustion space, cylinder head, spark plug andvalve stems.

While the advantages of my invention are achieved to a great extent bythe arrangement already described, irrespective of the location of thespark plug, the operation a pears to be best when the spark plug is.

p need in a substantially horizontal position as remote as possible fromthe cylin er, Accordingly, in the preferred form of engine the sparlrlugs 24 are placed as shown in Figs. 1 an d, on the sides oi thecylinder head adjacent the exhaust valve, but it proiterred they may beplaced about centrally of the cylinder as shown at 24 in Fig. 3.

The arran ement of valves and construction describe is efi'ectivelyemployed in con nection with a deflector 26 and the curved manifold 2twhich is shown in Fig. 1, being more fully described in a companionapplication Serial No. l'lthllb, filed February 23, 1927. This deflectorhelps to cause any particles oil unvaporized fuel which normall cling tothe outer curved wall ot the mannlold to be drawn into the center of theair stream leading to whichever cylinder is breathing and thus theunvaporizod particles ot heavy tool are distributed unitormly among thecylinders. These particles oi un vaporired :tuel bein blown o the "frontedge oi the de'tlector" and being in the middle oil the air streamarecarried along in such a position that many oil them will fall directly onto the hot eirhaust valve thus insuring the vaporiaation andcombustion oi these particles. Thus by arranging the valves as statedherein, the va orization oi the heavy particle's'is improved In Fig. ll,there is shown an engine embodying my invention in modified term. Tn

this figure, the cylinder head is designated '14, the cylinders G, theinlet valves ill, the

distribute them to the several cylinders. lit

36 is shown a second deflector pertorming similar functions for thecylinders supplied by the inlet passages 38 and 34. It will be seen thatthe combustion spaces 37, 38 and 39 of the several cylinders arearranged with relation to the respective cylinder and can haust valve asin Fig. 2, substantially the only diii'erence being that the manifol.pas

sage lies within the casting instead oi on the outside thereof. Undercertain conditions of use and manufacture this arrangement has certainadvantages.

The engine constructed as described has by reason oil the relation ofthe parts a very small combustion chamber relative to the displacement,and a. very small area of piston exposed to the heat; consequently thecombustion is comparable to that of a much smaller engine of standarddesign, more heat goes into work and less energy is wasted The engineshows a marked increase in efiiciency, but this is not accompanied bypreignition or overheating of the exhaust valves ,Wh'at Tclaim is:

ltltl ltltl 1. In an internal combustion engine of the F-hcad type andin combination withtho cylinder and combustion space thereof, an

exhaust valve in the combustion space at one side of the cylinder and aninverted inlet valve whose axis is about midway between the axes oi thecylinder and exhaust valve.

2. In an internal combustion engine oil the F-head type and incombination with the cylinder and combustion space, an exhaust valve inthe combustion space beside the cylinder, and an inverted inlet valveopenin r downwardly into the combustion space, said inlet valveoverlapping the exhaust va ve and the cylinder.

d, To an internal combustion engine oi the lhead type and in combinationwith a cylinder and combustion space, an enhaust valve opening into thecombustion s ace be side the cylinder, and an inverted inat valveopening downwardly into the combustionlllll ltlll valve and thecylinder, and the portion of the combustion space over the cylinderbeing limited to that portion immediately around the inlet valve.

4. In an internal combustion engine of the F head type and incombination with a cylinder and combustion space, an exhaust valveopening into the combustion space beside the cylinder, an inverted inletvalve opening downwardly into the combustion space, said valveoverlapping the exhaust valve and the cylinder, and'the portion of thecombustion space over the cylinder being limited to that portionimmediately around the inlet valve, and a spark plug adjacent the sideof the exhaust valve and .at a distance from the cylinder.

5. In an internal combustion engine of the F-head typeand in combinationwith the cylinder and combustion space, an exhaust valve opening intothe combustion space, an inverted inlet valve overlapping the exhaustValve and the cylinder, the inlet passage leading to the intake valveentering from the exhaust valve side of the cylinder and turningdownwardly pastthe inlet valve so that the incoming mixture andparticularly the heavy particles thereof'will impart flow across theexhaust valve.

6. In aninternal combustion engine of the F -head type and incombination with the cylinder, an exhaust valve beside the cylinder, andan inverted inlet valve overlapping the edge of the cylinder and of theexhaust valve, thecombustion space of the engine be- 1 of the cylinderhead being elsewhere substantially in the plane of the top of thecylinder, whereby the portion of the combustion space over to thecylinder is confined to a portion of a cylinder.

7. An internal combustion engine having a combustion space extendingfrom a point above the cylinder to a point at one side thereof, anexhaust valve at the side of the cylinder opening upward into thecombustion space, an inlet valve opening downward into the combustionspace and overlapping the adjoining sides of the cylinder and exhaustvalve and a spark lug adjacent the exhaust valve and remote from thecylinder.

8. An internal combustion engine having a combustion space located inpart over only a portion of the cylinder and is in partat one sidethereof, an exhaust valve at the side of the cylinder opening upwardinto the combustion space, an inlet valve opening downward into thecombustion space and overlapping the adjoining sides of the cylinder andexhaust valve and a spark plug adjacent the exhaust valve and remotefrom the cylinder. In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature.

STEPHEN I. FEKETE.

